"Every tear, every fear / Gone with the thought of you / Changing what I thought I knew / I'll be yours for a thousand lives," Ora croons over a gentle first verse before the track lifts, and delivers electric staccato-synth you last heard on Passion Pit's Manners. It's dramatic, ripe for an urgent movie montage and even supplies an out-of-left field acoustic guitar riff just when you think you've got it all figured out.

In other words, it's a sure thing, and shows just enough restraint to match contemporary pop's preferred state of malaise — but will it be received as such? Payne's and Ora's collective chart history indicates it could go either way.

Payne, all the while, saw massive success in both countries as a member of One Direction, but as a solo artist, hasn't yet cracked single-digit standings on American charts — "Strip That Down" peaked at No. 10. Former bandmate Harry Styles, on the other hand, reached No. 4 with "Sign of the Times" and Zayn made it to No. 1 with "Pillowtalk" and No. 2 with "I Don't Wanna Live Forever."